road

Tickets for the Virginia & Truckee Railroad’s wildly popular holiday adventure to the North Pole via THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride will go on sale starting Friday, Aug. 19 at 6 a.m.

The schedule of enchanted train rides runs from Nov. 17 through Dec. 23. For the past five years, every seat on every train has sold out for the V&T’s magical trip to the North Pole, making it imperative for parents and grandparents to make arrangements early.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS
State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to just north of Granlibakken Road in Tahoe City that is upgrading storm water drainage and treatment systems, adding curb and gutter, resurfacing and realigning the road, adding new left-turn pockets and widening shoulders on an 8-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected by summer 2017.

The Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition is stressing bike safety in their new multimedia education campaign to promote safe bicycling for Tahoe visitors and residents.

“We hope these safety tips help ensure people enjoy riding their bicycles at Lake Tahoe,” said Curtis Fong, vice president of the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition. “This is the greatest and most beautiful place in the world to ride a bike, and we want to help make sure that bicyclists are aware of safe riding practices when bicycling on roadways or bike paths around Lake Tahoe.”

A three-car accident on Highway 50 near Frog Lake on lower Echo Summit caused both lanes of the road to be closed for almost two hours Tuesday afternoon.

At 3:37 p.m., the California Highway Patrol responded to the accident which resulted in extensive damage to all three cars involved in the head-on collision. They then issued an alert to cell phones in the area, warning of the road's closure.

CHP says there were mild to moderate injuries to the cars' occupants and at least one person was transported to Barton Hospital.

As of 5:15 p.m., both lanes of traffic reopened.

A 22-year-old El Dorado Hills man is behind bars on suspicion of robbing several area banks between June 29 and July 25 from Stateline to Folsom with his face covered in bandages, earning him the nickname, the Bandaged Bandit.

On July 25 at 2:35 p.m., the US Bank on White Rock Road in El Dorado Hills was robbed by a suspect who fled into a wooded area southeast of the bank. Deputies from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office and California Highway Patrol officers and helicopter started searching the area.

Mountain Resort Television reporter Laura Mate joins Nick Rogers and they fill us in on the Bass Camp Festival in South Lake Tahoe. Also, Discover Dickerson Road and the industrial arts area of Reno.

3:30 p.m. update from Douglas County Officials: The water line has been located, but it is 15 feet deep with a gas line in the excavation hole and unmarked fiber optic lines running parallel to the edge of pavement along the old road bed. Therefore, efforts are currently limited to the use of a vactor truck for excavation.

The road crew is working with utilities on the excavation. It is anticipated that the crews will be working into the night to make the leak repair. Crockett Construction is onsite and they will be performing the excavation once fiber optics are located.

Work along Pioneer Trail will continue through mid-October to move power lines underground from Black Bart Court to just south of Golden Bear Trail.

A contractor for Liberty Utilities has already started on the project which could result in traffic delays.

Approximately 5,800 feet of overhead power lines (as well as communication lines owned by AT&T and Charter Communications) are being relocated underground. The work is expected to continue through mid-October this year, and will be completed next year during the allowed construction time period of May-October.

Join Tahoe Heritage Foundation and the US Forest Service at Taylor Creek Visitor Center for this Friday's Evening Program: Astronomy at Taylor Creek with Fleischmann Planetarium! July 22nd at 8:30 pm at the Lake of the Sky Amphitheater. This event is open to the public and is a $5.00 donation to the Tahoe Heritage Foundation.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to just north of Granlibakken Road in Tahoe City that is upgrading storm water drainage and treatment systems, adding curb and gutter, resurfacing and realigning the road, adding new left-turn pockets and widening shoulders on an 8-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected by summer 2017.

Unknown to many, including those in the ice cream business, today is National Ice Cream Day! Celebrated on the third Sunday in July, the holiday was declared by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 as a way to promote the economic well-being of the U.S. dairy industry.

While most don't need a reason to enjoy ice cream, Reagan's move called for the people of the United States to use ceremonies and activities to pay tribute to ice cream.

Why argue with this proclamation? It sounds reasonable!

Firefighters responded to two small fires on Sunday, one at Round Hill and the other in the meadow behind the Ross store.

A person walking behind the US Forest Service building and Ross/Rite Aid building saw a fire and rushed into Ross to call 911. Firefighters responded quickly and the small fire was quickly extinguished. The fire was only able to burn a 5 ft x 5 ft square. The cause is under investigation.

It is dark. It is 2:00 a.m. on Friday, July 15 at the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) in Placerville. It is early, but not too early to prevent a group of people to come see Camino resident Hervé Leconte leave on his 65-mile run to the EDSO building in South Lake Tahoe.

After a 3 1/2 year battle with brain cancer, JoJo Conroy passed away peacefully in her garden on Saturday July 9th. She would have been 66 on July 24th. During her 43 years as a resident of South Lake Tahoe she touched many lives in a variety of capacities. She spent her summers as a banquet waitress at Edgewood Golf Course and her winters overseeing the operation of Rainbow Mountain Ski Shop. But it was her commitment to her community and friends where she truly shined.

8:30 p.m. update: East Fork Fire Protection responded to a wildland fire at around noon today. The fire was in the Pine Nut Range near the Ruby Mine area. The fire was a slow growth fire and has been mostly contained. The majority of the fire appears to be on private property.

Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service and Nevada Department of Forestry all assisted with suppression efforts. The efforts are winding down, resources are being released from the fire and the crews are in the mop up stage.

With road construction to enhance driver safety on U.S. 50 in Lake Tahoe’s Cave Rock area, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is reminding motorists to anticipate minor travel delays during special events such as the American Century Championship golf tournament.

“We encourage everyone to visit and enjoy Lake Tahoe,” NDOT District Engineer Thor Dyson explained. “But, with many visitors traveling to Lake Tahoe, drivers should plan a little extra travel time for road improvements being made in the Cave Rock area.”

Now that the 4th of July holiday has passed, construction on the Caltrans Hwy 89 project along the West Shore of Lake Tahoe is now on an overnight schedule and will remain so for the next several weeks during the peak summer season, the department announced today.

Contractor Road and Highway Builders now works a 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. shift during the week and 10:00 p.m. Sunday to 6:00 a.m. Monday. That schedule is expected to continue until August 15. Completion of the project was originally targeted for the end of this season, but some work now will extend into 2017.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to just north of Granlibakken Road in Tahoe City that is upgrading storm water drainage and treatment systems, adding curb and gutter, resurfacing and realigning the road, adding new left-turn pockets and widening shoulders on an 8-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected by summer 2017.

Pier 1 is out of their location in South Lake Tahoe, and Goodwill Industries is heading in now that escrow has closed on the building at 1069 Emerald Bay Road. Goodwill will be celebrating the opening their 27th Northern Nevada/Sacramento area location with a four-day grand opening starting July 21 at 8:00 a.m.

Karen McClaflin, the Chief Development Officer for Goodwill Sacramento Valley & Northern Nevada, told South Tahoe Now that that the company has been actively engaged for the past seven years looking for a store and community training center in the Tahoe Basin.

Thinning of trees for fuels reduction and forest health will resume on Thursday, July 7 on approximately 178 acres of National Forest System lands on the northeast side of Highway 267, north of Lake Vista Road above Kings Beach and Tahoe Vista. Mechanical whole tree removal will take place off Forest Road 16N52 over the next several months and the area will be closed for public safety.

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) has adopted 156 projects, valued at $583 million, to support needed upkeep on California’s aging roads and bridges, make upgrades to transit and rail systems and encourage use of alternative forms of transportation, including biking and walking. One major project in South Lake Tahoe has been adopted.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance in locating an at-risk missing person. 52-year-old Jeannette Marie Chapman hasn't been seen or heard from since June 29.

She is described as 5'06", brown hair with blue eyes and weighs 285 lbs.

Chapman was last known to be living in the area of 3740 Blackwood Road in South Lake Tahoe, CA. Chapman has a medical condition which may require her to seek medical attention.

The photo in this story is from 2006.

The California Highway Patrol and Uber are joining forces to promote awareness about safe, alternative transportation options to drunk driving during the July 4 holiday weekend.

This holiday is one of the deadliest for drunk driving crashes. South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has partnered with Uber to prevent drunk driving in South Lake Tahoe.

Uber reached out to the nonprofits to make sure that Tahoe is safe, and to do so they are trying to get as many of their drivers out on the road as possible.

An initiative prohibiting the City Council of South Lake Tahoe from approving or supporting the US Highway 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project received enough signatures to make it to the ballot in November.

The group, Let Tahoe Decide, was notified today that their petition gathered enough signatures to take it to the next step. Ten percent of the registered voters in the city, or 879 signatures, were required. El Dorado County Registrar William Schulz said his office received 1,496 signatures, and by verifying the required random sample, found enough valid signatures.